Blow Outs

[spud912]

I tried the search function and could not find an answer....sorry it's so long!

I have a dcb (19 months) who has major blow outs 1-2 times per week (always in the morning within 30 minutes of being dropped off). He is new and is on his 3rd week with me. When he had his first blow out (happened in the first week), I notified the parents that they need to use larger diapers (his diapers were at least 2 sizes too small....I could barely even get the tabs around his waist ). At the time, I knew he had defecated but did not know it was leaking....I had to answer the door and get breakfast out of the oven so it took about 5 minutes to get to him. In the meantime, he managed to "spread" the feces EVERYWHERE he sat.

Last week he had a blow out, but it wasn't so bad because he was wearing a onesie and he only leaked a little bit out the back...plus I got to him immediately. This week he has had 2 blow outs so far, the one this morning being absolutely horrendous! It didn't spread anywhere because I changed him immediately, but about about a 1/2 cup of feces was plastered to the inside of his onesie. As you can imagine, it was all over his body and literally flowing out of his diaper. I actually had to change him outside standing up because of the shear quantity of it. It ended up taking 45 minutes to clean him up (of course during when I serve breakfast so our schedule was completely off today). It turned out that they sent him in that too-small diaper again today, so I imagine they are trying to use up the remainder of their diapers . I gave myself time to chill out and then texted the parents to send him in the bigger diapers and the reason why. I think at this point the parents think I'm whining about changing poopy diapers, but when you manage 6 children by yourself and have to literally step away from the group DURING when you should be serving breakfast for 45 minutes to an hour to clean up poop dynamite, it is a problem .

Anyway, so now I'm terrified of it happening again and I try my hardest to prevent future problems. I really hope the larger diaper "solves" the issue but I'm wondering if there is something else that can be done. Does anyone have any advice on chronic blow-outs? I seriously cannot do this on a regular basis during one of my most chaotic times...it literally throws everything out of whack!

[SilverSabre25]

I would hand the parents a note regarding needing dcb to arrive in a properly sized diaper or you will not accept him into care.

[NeedaVaca]

Definitely they need to supply the correct size diaper and possibly change brands if it continues. If it only happens in the morning are you sure they are fastening the diaper tight enough? You might want to check as soon as you can in the morning and make sure it's a tight (obviously not too tight) fit! They might have it on too loose! Maybe that will fix it

[Hunni Bee]

I'm concerned about the amount, consistency and "explosive" quality of it more than I am about the diaper being too small...even if he were wearing the correct size or even a size up it sounds like it would be coming out the diaper.

Does he seem to be overweight/overfed? Allergies/sensitivities/intolerances? What does he eat at home? You say he does this shortly after drop off...

Definitely check the diaper he's wearing and whatever they brought you at the door, and turn them around if its not right. One morning of that should nip that in the bud.

ETA: The reason I'm concerned is several years ago we had a little boy who would have these ridiculous blowouts every morning, similar to your little guy. It would be completely soft and very light colored. We found out that his mother fed him pudding cups (the Handi-Snaks kind - total garbage) at every meal, most of the time two of them. His little system was practically inundated with this crap. We should have known when on his first day she brought 3-4 packs of them for us to feed him. She was very surprised when she brought more the next week and we hadn't touched the first.

We.had to have a "come to Jesus" about the pudding after a few weeks. She was clueless...the child was 14 months old - not walking, crawling, still eating baby food...he could barely sit unassisted. She thought all of that was normal...as were the pudding blowouts.

[preschoolteacher]

I personally have never experienced blow-outs with kids past 1 year old, and most of the time not past 7-8 months old. 19 months seems too old for this to be happening. I wonder if it is a diet thing... allergy thing... hmm? Maybe he doesn't "go" on a regular basis and has big blow-outs a few times a week, but doesn't poop the rest of the week?

There is no way it's acceptable for him to be wearing a too-small diaper if this happens. I'd take the previous posters' advice on how to deal with the parents regarding this. He needs to be wearing the correct size diaper.

[daycare]

sister here feeling your pain. I think we share the same kid. I have a dck same age. He also has blow outs at least once a day or more. This kid eats like he has a hole in him. However, this child is wearing the right size diaper and there just really seems to be nothing that I can do to prevent it.

What I am doing is putting a plastic lined cloth training underwear over his diaper. It seems to be working really well. Since it is just catching the leaks, I can just throw it straight into the wash.

Parents say that the same thing happens at home....

[Size18]

Originally posted by spud912
Does anyone have any advice on chronic blow-outs?

I would top the diapers with a pair of old-fashioned waffle knit soakers, the ones with the padded centre running down the middle, and rubber pants over that.

I used cloth diapers and rubber pants on my kids and never had a problem with leaking or blowouts. A testament to the reliability and waterproof benefit of rubber pants over diapers.

[Cradle2crayons]

(1) I would INSIST, not ask for the correct size diapers. I would check him and his bag at drop off. If it wasn't right on both counts, I'd refuse care u til it was fixed

(2) I would ask mom if this is happening at home. I would also ask mom what she feeds him first thing in the morning, if anything, if nothing before arrival, what is he eating right before bed.

(3) if he's having ese multiple times a day, meaning there and at home, I'd require a check up to address these issues (if the correct size diaper doesn't fix it)

(4) does he poop towards the afternoon there after a morning blow out and if so, is it normal after eating healthier foods at Your house.

[Emsdayhome]

my son suffers from Colitis, and a milk and soy protein allergy- as does my daughter. when they have blowouts, its because they've been exposed to milk or soy....and it's unimaginable how much they can produce.

I'd be more concerned about his diet, than the size of diapers. If it continues, and they insist he doesn't have any dietary issues, then suggest a cloth cover to put over the disposable diaper to catch any escaping poop.